Help Is on the Way!
“And
as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be
lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life. ‘For God so
loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should
not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world
to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him’”
(John 3:14-17).
Grace
to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ
It
is called a caduceus and is the image first responders use in almost every city
in America. You will often see it on the side of emergency vehicles, inside
elevators, and perhaps on medical jewelry around people’s wrists. It is the
snake (or snakes) wrapped around a pole. One thing is certain: when we see this
image, we know help is on the way. This ubiquitous symbol tells everyone who
sees it that the rescue they need is right where they will be.
From
the beginning of the wilderness wandering, the books from Exodus to Numbers
record constant complaining by the Israelites against Moses and Aaron. The
people did not like the bitter water of Marah (Exodus 15:22-25), so the Lord
showed Moses how to sweeten it. They grumbled about the lack of food (Exodus
16:2-3), so the Lord gave them manna. They griped that they were thirsty
(Exodus 17:3), so Moses struck the rock at the Lord’s command, and water gushed
forth (Numbers 20:1-13). When they left Sinai, they again asked for meat to eat
(Numbers 11:4-6), and a wind from the Lord brought quail, but a plague
accompanied the birds. Then, in Numbers 14, after reaching the Promised Land
(the first time), the people rebelled at the prospect of invading Canaan.
The
Lord threatened to wipe them out with pestilence and to disinherit them. He
would start all over, making from the descendants of Moses a nation greater and
mightier. But Moses interceded on behalf of the stubborn people. God relented
and forgave them, yet announced there would still be consequences for their
rebellion. For forty years, they would wander in the wilderness. The ten spies
who had brought back a bad report about the land died by a plague before the
Lord. No people from that generation from twenty years old and up, except Caleb
and Joshua, would enter the Promised Land.
The forty
years of wandering were over. It was time to go into the Promised Land. Because
the king of Edom had refused passage to the Israelites, their route took them
southward toward the Gulf of Aqaba and eastward toward the Arabian desert.
Because the route was not the direct one, the people began to murmur and complain.
Even this generation, which was forty years removed from life in Egypt,
repeated the complaints of the first generation.
Our
text for today records the people's final complaint. It culminates the entire
series because, for the first time, the people “spoke against God and
against Moses.” “Why did you take us away from life in Egypt, Moses? There is
no bread or water here in the wilderness, and all we get is this miserable
stuff that is called manna.” Talk about biting the hand that feeds you…
The
Lord sent venomous snakes among the people to jar them to their senses. Many
died because they were bitten. But we see the improved attitude of this new
generation. They recognized the chastisement and confessed their sin of
discontent. They appealed to the Lord through Moses, who, once again,
faithfully acted as the mediator between the people and the Lord.
In
answer to Moses’ prayer, God told the prophet to set up a bronze snake. The
Lord promised that anyone who looked toward the bronze snake would live. So
Moses made a bronze snake and set it up on a post where everyone could see it.
Those who believed the Lord’s promise and looked at the snake when bitten were
saved.
Like
the other complaint stories of the wilderness wandering, this one continues to
hold forth God’s grace for salvation. So why this text and not all the others? Other
biblical scholars have viewed God’s merciful gift in these verses as a
prototype of God’s ultimate provision for the survival and salvation of the
people of God, which we see fullest in Jesus Christ.
This
account is especially dear to people of the New Testament because Jesus pointed
to it in John chapter 3: “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the
wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him
may have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son,
that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (John
3:14-16).
The
original context of these words is a late-night visit from Nicodemus, a ruler
of the Jewish ruling council, the Sanhedrin. He came to check out Jesus for
himself. Jesus talked about the Kingdom of God, “being born again,” and the
work of the Holy Spirit. Noting Nicodemus’ confusion, Jesus directed this
renowned “teacher of Israel” to his well-studied Old Testament Scriptures for
understanding. He drew an analogy between Moses lifting up the bronze snake in
the desert (Numbers 21:8, 9) and His saving work for the world. The snake was
lifted up on a pole; Jesus was to be lifted up on a cross. Everyone who looked
in faith at the snake was healed from the bite of deadly snakes. Everyone who
would look in faith at Jesus would be saved from the bite of eternal death and
have eternal life. This is the life in God’s Kingdom that begins with the new
birth by the Spirit.
Three
times in the Gospel of John (3:14; 8:28; 12:32, 34), Jesus Himself refers to
being lifted up in the same way as the serpent in Numbers 21. He then proceeds
to interpret that action as fulfilled in His crucifixion for rebellious sinners
such as you and me, who were poisoned by original sin since the fall. Help is
on the way! Here in the wilderness of our sinful rebellion, we see in this
crucified Christ a caduceus of sorts, an image that draws our attention to the
spiritual first responder for sin. Jesus is the one who was hung on a cursed
tree for our sins (Deuteronomy 21:23; Galatians 3:13). By looking to Him in
faith, we receive forgiveness, healing, and eternal life through the salvation
He bore for us on the cross, and secured in His resurrection.
These
promises are most clearly fulfilled at the moment Jesus was lifted up and
crucified. There, He literally created this little community of forgiven
people, drawing them together as a family (mother and child) in Himself,
gathered around His life-saving work of atonement on the cross (John 19:26).
This
promise belongs to “everyone” who believes. It is universal. No one who
believes is excluded. At the same time, the promise belongs to each one who
believes. It is personal. God knows our names, and each of us has eternal life.
Jesus
used this late-night visit to teach Nicodemus God’s eternal plan of salvation. Help
is on the way! In simple terms, which most Christians today know from memory,
Jesus summed up the plan. God loved the world He had created, even though the
crown of that creation had gone bad and ruined it all. Our sins did not stop
God from loving us. The sins of Adam and Eve and Cain and Lamech and Sarah and
David and Judas and Paul and Luther and Hitler—God knew them all—did not turn
off His love. He loved the world and excluded no one.
We
do not easily understand such love, but we must know about it. This love is
more than a feeling; it’s a resolve. It doesn’t dream passively; it acts
purposefully. It doesn't base its actions on how likable or worthy the object
of love is; it acts in the interest of its object. God did not like sin; He
hated it. But He loved the world, which was trapped in sin, and so He had to
deal with sin.
God’s
love brought results. He offered the ultimate sacrifice for the world He loved.
He gave His one and only Son. The giving, however, meant more than having Him
born of a virgin mother and hailed as Savior. God gave His Son as the necessary sacrifice for
the world’s sins. God gave His one and only Son for the cross.
Then
Jesus repeated what God’s gift meant: “Whoever believes in Him shall not perish
but have eternal life.” Faith saves. But not just any faith—faith in the Son of
God, who was given as our sacrifice.
Those
who believe in Jesus as their Savior “shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Although many believers die, that’s just a physical death that ends our years
on earth. Believers live on forever with Jesus in the resurrection. We enjoy
life with Jesus now already, but after death, we will know life in full glory.
Let’s
pause and reflect on what has just transpired. Jesus laid out God’s plan of
salvation for Nicodemus. Nicodemus did not expect what he heard. No human being
could have devised such a plan. No one would have imagined it. It could not
work without God.
But
here was God, revealed in His triune majesty. God the Father loved the
undeserving world so much that He sent His Son to save it. God the Son, present
here in the person of Jesus, came to fulfill the Father’s will and win eternal
life for all people. God the Spirit comes to work the faith people need to
receive the gift of eternal life. He brings about a new birth.
Jesus
elaborated on the beautiful message: God sent His Son into the world for one
reason—to save it. Many Jews thought that the Messiah would condemn the heathen
and save His chosen people, the Jews. They were wrong. He came to save all the people
of the world. The words are emphatic: “God did not send His Son into the world
to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.
Jesus did not come to judge but to save.
Here
in Lent, the image of the caduceus becomes a powerful, contemporary symbol transformed
by our text from Numbers and, subsequently, by Christ's work in fulfilling
salvation for us. Every time we see a caduceus, we now have a moment to pause
and pray for those they are trying to save while also giving thanks to God for
saving us through Christ, who was lifted up for the salvation of the entire
world.
Whenever
we see this image out in the world, may it become a moment to stop and consider
God’s work in the world through the lifesaving efforts of others. Even more, it
should also remind us of the lifesaving work of Christ on the cross, which is
now transformed by a vision of God’s work in the world.
Go
in the peace of the Lord and serve your neighbor with joy. God the Father loved
you and the world so much that He sent His Son in the flesh to live and die for
you. The Son of Man gave Himself into the hands of sinful men to be lifted up,
to die on the cross. The Holy Spirit brings new birth through the water and
Word of Holy Baptism. Help is on the way! Believe and live.
Unless otherwise
indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English Standard
Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good
News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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